South Korean lawmakers have voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a “victory of the people”.
The unicameral National Assembly voted 204 to 85 on Saturday to impeach Yoon, the second such vote in eight days. Three members abstained and eight votes were declared invalid.
The vote was done by secret ballot, with two-thirds of the votes required for impeachment. All 300 members of the assembly cast their ballots.
The impeachment suspends Yoon’s powers until the Constitutional Court in 180 days decides whether to formally remove him from office.
In the interim, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president.
Two hundred votes were needed for the impeachment to pass, and opposition lawmakers needed to convince at least eight parliamentarians from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) to switch sides.
A Seoul police official earlier told AFP at least 200,000 people had massed outside parliament in support of removing the president.
On the other side of Seoul near Gwanghwamun square, police estimated 30,000 had rallied in support of Yoon, blasting patriotic songs and waving South Korean and American flags.
“Yoon had no choice but to declare martial law. I approve of every decision he has made as president,” supporter Choi Hee-sun, 62, told AFP before the vote.
The South Korean president has vowed to fight on and doubled down on unsubstantiated claims the opposition is in league with the country’s communist foes.
